Pastoral Care

At UU Church of Boulder, people care about you. There are four components to our Congregational Care Program:

Counsel and support provided by the minister

Pastoral Care Associates

Caring Ministry Team

Mutual Support

The Minister

For church members, our minister (Rev. Kelly Dignan) provides short-term pastoral counseling, spiritual direction and crisis care. She may refer you to a Pastoral Care Associate or community resources. She officiates at weddings and memorial services for church members.

Pastoral Care Associates

Pastoral Care Associates (PCAs) extend the care of the church through a confidential, one-to-one deep listening ministry for those in specific need of spiritual support as they deal with major life changes. Those life changes might include birth, adoption, loss of job, divorce, retirement, death of a family member or friend, follow-up after crisis intervention and counseling. PCAs offer a ministry of presence and support, not social conversation. They complete an application, attend a required training, and are commissioned by UUCB to serve for one year, with the option to extend that service by one year. Congregants are referred to PCAs by the minister, meet with the referred congregant for no more than six to eight sessions, and maintain communication with the minister regarding the progress of the referral.

Caring Ministry Team

The purpose of the Caring Ministry Team is to support church members who have health concerns like illness or upcoming surgeries. Services provided by the Caring Ministry Team include sending cards, making phone calls, visiting, providing transportation to medical appointments, providing meals if congregant is alone, making referrals to practical support services in Boulder, and assisting at UUCB member memorial services. The Caring Ministry Team meets in person monthly.

Culture of Mutual Support

As a caring community of faith, we offer support to each other in every interaction. More specifically, Affinity Groups and Covenant Groups are great ways to connect with others and receive support for the journey of life.

Upcoming Service

We like to think that others suffer, but guess what? So do we! There is no “us” and “them” when it comes to suffering.

Members’ Stories

Suzy

I grew up a Unitarian Universalist, and when I moved to Boulder in 2009 I was looking for a church community to join. I have always felt a strong spiritual connection to social justice work. Read the full testimonial.

Mary and Sue

We met in 1992 and we traveled around the country for our work for two and a half years. We made sure to seek out the local UU church in whatever new town we were living in. Read the full testimonial.